Summer 2025 has it all - droughts, heat and storms, oh my!
Hotter weather means more deaths, affected infrastructure, the potential for larger and more persistent wildfires, and additional energy expenditure that may worsen Earth's environmental predicament, experts have noted.
Many cities have already felt summer-like warmth this spring. Phoenix already saw a triple-digit day earlier this month. In the coming months, AccuWeather says more intense heat is expected in the northern Rockies, Northwest and Plains regions. In the Northwest, Boise, Idaho, Spokane, Washington, and Billings, Montana, are likely to see the most scorching heat.
The heat will contribute to a wildfire season that could escalate, burning more than 7 million acres. A later start is expected for wildfire activity in the Northwest, but there is vegetation that will act as kindling, forecasters noted. The fire risk is earlier in the Southwest, and 'very high' to 'extreme' in the region. Texas, the Rockies and the interior Northwest.
"While the season may start slowly, there is strong potential for rapid escalation as drought conditions and heat set in," AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Expert Paul Pastelok said.
While the West will see a similar frequency of 90-degree days as last summer, major Eastern cities will feel fewer of those days. However, the Atlantic coast will not get a break from hurricanes this season. There's even a chance a subtropical or tropical storm will develop before the official June 1 start. AccuWeather is predicting three to six direct hits from hurricanes, with the Carolinas at a higher-than-average risk yet again following last year's devastating Hurricane Helene.
More moisture in the form of thunderstorms will break the heat in the Northeast and across the Appalachians. To the South, the Southwest will feel some relief from its monsoon.
"The monsoon may help ease drought conditions," Pastelok said. "Another positive to an above-average monsoon is to bring up river and lake levels. This can also bring relief from high heat and some energy savings."
Right now, just under 37 percent of the country is in moderate to exceptional drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. This summer, drought coverage is projected to be widespread across the High Plains and West. There could be water shortages in the hardest hit areas, and impact crop production.
'Soil moisture and drought are big factors contributing to the demand for cooling this summer. We expect the middle of the country to dry out and bake in the summer heat. Higher air temperatures can enhance evaporation rates, which further reduces soil moisture. The hotter and drier it gets, the more families and businesses will depend on air conditioning,' Pastelok explained.
The demand for electricity is also expected to climb above historical average levels across parts of 33 states this summer. That demand will only surge in hotter summers.
The forecast is indicative of what is already known. Extreme weather events are becoming more extreme and frequent in an increasingly warming world and due to the impacts of manmade climate change.
Heat waves are hotter, storms are stronger and droughts are longer and more devastating. As the atmosphere continues to warm, AccuWeather says more benchmarks will be broken following Earth's hottest year on record.
'Hundreds of record high temperatures were shattered across the country last summer. We'll likely experience more record high temperatures being challenged or broken again this summer, especially in the western and central U.S.,' AccuWeather Climate Expert and Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said in a statement. 'The data is clear and cannot be ignored; overall temperatures will continue to rise as long as people around the globe continue burning fossil fuels that unleash carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that trap heat in our atmosphere.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Everything we know about Texas flooding
With more than 100 people dead, many of them children attending a Christian summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River, Friday's extreme flash flooding that overwhelmed a sizeable chunk of central Texas will be recorded as one of the state's worst ever natural disasters. The brunt of the tragedy was felt in Kerr county, where at least 27 children and counselors were killed after a deluge of water described by one witness as a 'a pitch-black wall of death' swept through the all-girl Camp Mystic on the river's south fork. About 750 young campers were celebrating the Fourth of July holiday. Elsewhere in the county, authorities reported almost 50 more deaths, a number certain to rise in the coming days as the grim task of recovering bodies continues. Alongside the human toll, torrential rain and catastrophic flooding caused near-unprecedented levels of destruction, affecting homes, businesses and vehicles. A preliminary estimate by the private weather service AccuWeather places the damage and economic loss at $18bn-$22bn (£13.2bn-£16.2bn). 'Everyone in the community is hurting,' said Dalton Rice, the city manager of Kerrville, the county seat, at a press conference on Sunday. 'We are seeing bodies recovered all over, up and down.' The first inkling that a disaster was imminent came in a bulletin issued by the Austin-San Antonio office of the National Weather Service at 1.18pm local time on Thursday, warning that 'pockets of heavy rain are expected and may result in flooding of low-lying areas, rivers/creeks, and low water crossings'. The message was amplified in a post to X little more than an hour later. Shortly after midnight on Friday, the NWS was warning of 'significant impacts' from torrential rain dousing counties north of San Antonio, which never let up through the early morning hours and swelled rivers and other waterways at an astonishing pace. By 5.16am, the City of Kerrville's police department was warning of a 'life-threatening event' and urging anyone living along the Guadalupe River to immediately move to higher ground – warnings that some residents said came too late, or were not received at all. According to meteorologists, some parts of central Texas had several months' worth of rain in just a few hours, while gauges in the unincorporated Kerr county community of Hunt, where Camp Mystic is located, recorded 6.5in (16.5cm) of rain in only 180 minutes. Some areas received up to 15in (38.1cm) through the day on Friday, more than a summer's worth of rain in a single day, and reports of rainfall up to 8in (20.3cm) were widespread. The Guadalupe River rose by 26ft (8 metres) in 45 minutes, and 33ft (10 metres) in only two hours, surpassing the level of 31.5ft (9.6 metres) from a July 1987 flood less than 20 miles (32km) east of Kerrville in which 10 teenagers from a Christian summer camp drowned after their bus stalled in flood water. Search and rescue crews from local, state and federal agencies, using drones, boats and helicopters, were deployed at first light on Friday, as news footage began to convey the scale of the disaster. At a briefing on Saturday, authorities said about 850 people had been rescued, with more than 400 first responders from almost two dozen agencies covering an area of over 60 miles (97 miles). The number of responders passed 1,000 by the end of the day. The Texas national guard deployed a MQ-9 Reaper uncrewed aerial vehicle over remote spots, while personnel from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) joined emergency teams from other states in the search for survivors. Rice, the Kerrville city manager, criticised the operation of unauthorised drones by private citizens and the news media for interfering with the rescue effort, which he said was further hampered by difficult terrain and more heavy rain. By Sunday morning, 48 hours after the water first started to rise, and after a full day of recovering and identifying bodies while searching for those still missing, it was clear that central Texas had experienced its worst flooding event – and one of its most costly natural disasters – in decades. The state's governor, Greg Abbott, appeared at a press conference the day before to insist that crews would continue to consider anyone unaccounted for as alive, and called a statewide day of prayer for Sunday. 'All we know is that prayer does work,' he said, signing a request for a federal emergency declaration that the president, Donald Trump, approved on Sunday, freeing up more money and resources for recovery efforts. The popular private Christian summer camp, which is due to celebrate its centenary in 2026, lost at least 27 campers and counselors, it said in a post to its website. 'Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. We are praying for them constantly,' it said. The camp's longtime owner and director, Richard 'Dick' Eastland, was among those lost. The sprawling campsite on the bank of south fork features dormitories on lower ground that were completely overwhelmed by water. Photographs from inside one of the buildings show metal beds thrown around, as well as pink and purple sleeping bags and bedding, lunchboxes and mud-covered luggage that was abandoned as campers and staff evacuated. About 750 girls were attending the camp, which offers more than 30 activities during three month-long terms over the summer 'to provide young girls with a wholesome Christian atmosphere in which they can develop outstanding personal qualities and self-esteem'. By Monday night, 10 campers and one counselor were still unaccounted for. Families with ties to Camp Mystic gathered in Dallas for a vigil at the George W Bush Presidential Center. Drier weather forecasts for the area from Tuesday and beyond, allied to falling river levels, offered hope that clean-up and recovery efforts can gather pace. Some residents returned to their flood-ravaged properties on Monday to salvage what they could. Others found they had no homes to go back to, some taking refuge in a Red Cross centre in Kerrville. Kathy Perkins told the Guardian that her trailer home was damaged by water, but some of her neighbours' homes were swept away or moved around in the flood. The White House announced that Trump would visit, probably on Friday, to look at the damage and announce more federal aid in terms of money and resources for Kerr county and neighbouring areas. Another Hunt resident, Lesa Baird, 65, rode out the flood in a tree, then walked to her local Baptist church for help. 'There's no home to go to. It's done,' she said.
The Guardian
9 hours ago
- The Guardian
Texas flooding: a visual guide to one of US state's worst natural disasters
With more than 100 people dead, many of them children attending a Christian summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River, Friday's extreme flash flooding that overwhelmed a sizeable chunk of central Texas will be recorded as one of the state's worst ever natural disasters. The brunt of the tragedy was felt in Kerr county, where at least 27 children and counsellors were killed after a deluge of water described by one witness as a 'a pitch-black wall of death' swept through the all-girl Camp Mystic on the river's south fork. About 750 young campers were celebrating the Fourth of July holiday. Elsewhere in the county, authorities reported almost 50 more deaths, a number certain to rise in the coming days as the grim task of recovering bodies continues. Alongside the human toll, torrential rain and catastrophic flooding caused near-unprecedented levels of destruction, affecting homes, businesses and vehicles. A preliminary estimate by the private weather service AccuWeather places the damage and economic loss at $18bn-$22bn (£13.2bn-£16.2bn). 'Everyone in the community is hurting,' said Dalton Rice, the city manager of Kerrville, the county seat, at a press conference on Sunday. 'We are seeing bodies recovered all over, up and down.' The first inkling that a disaster was imminent came in a bulletin issued by the Austin-San Antonio office of the National Weather Service at 1.18pm local time on Thursday, warning that 'pockets of heavy rain are expected and may result in flooding of low-lying areas, rivers/creeks, and low water crossings'. The message was amplified in a post to X little more than an hour later. Shortly after midnight on Friday, the NWS was warning of 'significant impacts' from torrential rain dousing counties north of San Antonio, which never let up through the early morning hours and swelled rivers and other waterways at an astonishing pace. By 5.16am, the City of Kerrville's police department was warning of a 'life-threatening event' and urging anyone living along the Guadalupe River to immediately move to higher ground – warnings that some residents said came too late, or were not received at all. According to meteorologists, some parts of central Texas saw several months' worth of rain in just a few hours, while gauges in the unincorporated Kerr county community of Hunt, where Camp Mystic is located, recorded 6.5in (16.5cm) of rain in only 180 minutes. Some areas received up to 15in (38.1cm) through the day on Friday, more than a summer's worth of rain in a single day, and reports of rainfall up to 8in (20.3cm) were widespread. The Guadalupe River rose by 26ft (8 metres) in 45 minutes, and 33ft (10 metres) in only two hours, surpassing the level of 31.5ft (9.6 metres) from a July 1987 flood less than 20 miles (32km) east of Kerrville in which 10 teenagers from a Christian summer camp drowned after their bus stalled in floodwater. Search and rescue crews from local, state and federal agencies, using drones, boats and helicopters, were deployed at first light on Friday, as news footage began to convey the scale of the disaster. At a briefing on Saturday, authorities said about 850 people had been rescued, with more than 400 first responders from almost two dozen agencies covering an area of over 60 miles (97 miles). The number of responders grew to above 1,000 by the end of the day. The Texas national guard deployed a MQ-9 Reaper uncrewed aerial vehicle over remote spots, while personnel from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) joined emergency teams from other states in the search for survivors. Rice, the Kerrville city manager, criticised the operation of unauthorised drones operated by private citizens and the news media for interfering with the rescue effort, which he said was further hampered by difficult terrain and more heavy rain. By Sunday morning, 48 hours after the water first started to rise, and after a full day of recovering and identifying bodies while searching for those still missing, it was clear that central Texas had experienced its worst flooding event – and one of its most costly natural disasters – in decades. The state's governor, Greg Abbott, appeared at a press conference the day before to insist that crews would continue to consider anyone unaccounted for as alive, and called a statewide day of prayer for Sunday. 'All we know is that prayer does work,' he said, signing a request for a federal emergency declaration that the president, Donald Trump, approved on Sunday, freeing up more money and resources for recovery efforts. The popular private Christian summer camp, which is set to celebrate its centenary in 2026, lost at least 27 campers and counsellors, it said in a post to its website. 'Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. We are praying for them constantly,' it said. The camp's longtime owner and director, Richard 'Dick' Eastland, was among those lost. The sprawling campsite on the bank of south fork features dormitories on lower ground that were completely overwhelmed by water. Post-flood photographs from inside one of the buildings show metal beds thrown around, as well as pink and purple sleeping bags and bedding, lunchboxes and mud-covered luggage that was abandoned as campers and staff evacuated in haste. About 750 girls were attending the camp, which offers more than 30 activities during three month-long terms over the summer 'to provide young girls with a wholesome Christian atmosphere in which they can develop outstanding personal qualities and self-esteem'. By Monday night, 10 campers and one counsellor were still unaccounted for. Families with ties to Camp Mystic gathered in Dallas for a vigil at the George W Bush Presidential Center. Drier weather forecasts for the area from Tuesday and beyond, allied to falling river levels, offered hope that clean-up and recovery efforts can gather pace. Some residents returned to their flood-ravaged properties on Monday to salvage what they could, while others found they had no homes to go back to, some taking refuge in a Red Cross centre in Kerrville. Kathy Perkins told the Guardian that her trailer home was damaged by water, but some of her neighbours' homes were swept away or moved around in the flood. The White House announced that Trump would visit, probably on Friday, to look at the damage and announce more federal aid in terms of money and resources for Kerr county and neighbouring areas. Another Hunt resident, Lesa Baird, 65, rode out the flood in a tree, then walked to her local Baptist church for help. 'There's no home to go to. It's done,' she said.
Daily Mirror
12 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
UK weather maps show 39C scorcher after heatwave warning issued
Extreme highs of 39C are forecast in the UK soon, according to new weather maps, as meteorologists say the nation is set to experience its third heatwave of the summer so far New weather forecasts show the mercury rising to a scorching 39C after meteorologists warned of a 'longer and wider' heatwave coming to Britain. Maps from WXCharts using MetDesk data show a period of very warm weather between Monday 21 July and Tuesday 22 July that couyld see the mercury surge even above Dubai, with the heat primarily concentrated in England and some inland parts of Wales. On the Monday, conditions in the low-to-mid 30s are forecast across the southeast, East Anglia and central England, reaching 28C-29C in the southwest and the north. Temperatures are meanwhile expected around the 23C-24C mark in Wales, 20C in Northern Ireland, and 17-18C in northern Scotland. But it's on the Tuesday that things will reach into more extreme territory, with the latest forecast showing highs of 39C in North Norfolk at 6pm that day. The highs appear set to smash maximums in Dubai on the same day, with two-metre temperature maps suggesting the Middle-Eastern nation could see temperatures in their mid-30s by 6pm. The mercury would fall just short of Britain's highest-ever temperature of 40.3C, which was recorded during the infamous heatwave of summer 2022. The 39C high would also smash Norfolk's current record of 37.1C, which came during the same summer. Warm conditions are also expected in the short-term, with Met Office saying it expects to declare a heatwave in multiple parts of the UK this weekend thanks to the arrival of a new high pressure system from the Atlantic. This would be the third heatwave of the summer so far, and is expected to last longer than the previous two, particularly in the southeast. Deputy Chief Meteorologist Dan Holley said: 'High pressure from the Atlantic will gradually exert its influence over the UK this week. We'll see temperatures build day-on-day, with the potential for hot conditions to become quite widespread by the end of the week and into the weekend. 'On Wednesday, temperatures could reach up to 28°C in parts of England, climbing to 30°C on Thursday and 32°C by Friday. By this stage, heatwave criteria are likely to be met in parts of England and Wales, and in parts of Scotland over the weekend. 'High temperatures are likely to persist into the weekend, especially away from coasts with onshore winds, reaching the low 30s in portions of England and Wales, and accompanied by rising humidity and warmer nights. 'This heatwave is likely to last longer than previous ones so far this summer, and affect a wider area, with the focus for some of the highest temperatures displaced across more central and western areas at times. In addition, pollen and UV levels will also be very high in some areas.' Scientists recently warned that the chance of seeing temperatures above 40C in the UK is now more than 20 times greater than it was in the 1960s due to global warming.
